


turn (to a life) in exile

by Archistratego



Category: Dance of the Phoenix, 少年江湖物语 | The Birth Of The Drama King (TV)
Genre: Crossover, Gen, M/M, Nothing to see here, intentional lack of capital letters, this ship is a raft and i will share any crumbs with my fellow rafters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:40:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24223690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archistratego/pseuds/Archistratego
Summary: after going into exile, yan daifu encounters an injured stranger.
Relationships: yan daifu/yu mingye
Comments: 22
Kudos: 60





	turn (to a life) in exile

**Author's Note:**

> drabble inspired by [Kira](https://twitter.com/dauntingdeletor)'s late night yuyan musings.

the man smells like blood though the dark colours make it difficult to spot; _it has to be his_ , yan daifu thinks, biting his lip as he debates on whether to keep walking or drop his basket and help. his home is not too far, he reasons that a dead corpse in this area might attract unwanted attention he ought to at least bury this man.

_if he dies_ , because yan daifu is putting his carefully gathered herbs aside and grabbing the stranger's wrist. he presses down, counting the beats then places two fingers against the stranger's forehead. he is far too cold and pale, his lips are dry — bloodloss, dehydration and possibly poison. yan daifu is skilled at his craft, if he walks away this man is going to die.

(the worst part is that something inside of him darkly whispers that he should, that he does not need this sort of trouble, that he has already paid for his mistakes and the fragile peace of his exile is not for granted. he doubts ji chuan would come disturb his solitude, but yin jian always had too many enemies).

the stranger seems to wake while yan daifu has an internal back and forth debate on the merits of helping and he grabs at yan daifu, mouth opening and closing as if asking for help. 

_fuck_ , yan daifu thinks, enraged at his own weakness. 

he's going to have to leave his herbs behind.

* * *

whatever took a chunk of the stranger's torso nearly kills him. yan daifu labours for hours, naga's poison is potent, and between administering the prescribed herbs and trying to stop the bleeding, he almost _almost_ worries about lacking the skills to save the life of this stranger.

at least, a dead body is easier to dispose of from his cottage than in the middle of the road, but yan daifu is nothing if not practical and he hates wasting his time and efforts. this stranger better have the damn courtesy to _not_ die.

and he informs the stranger so, in his usual no-nonsense tone as he pulls out a particularly vicious looking tooth and presses down hard on the black blood that wells up in the area.

"If you die, I will make you regret it." it is a vow. 

as if the stranger understands, he utters something incoherent and then continues breathing.

silently, yan daifu does too.

* * *

his name is yu mingye and he is the single most _annoying_ individual currently alive on this earth, and yes, this is including zhao qingfeng who had ranked as yan daifu's top annoyance for years.

so, truly yu mingye is setting records after being awake for less than three sticks of incense. 

he keeps staring at yan daifu with those dark eyes, and if he does not stop, yan daifu is not above throwing him on the road to wonder his way back home. to the dark court, _allegedly_ , assuming he truly is the favoured son of the dark emperor. but if he is, then that brings a whole other set of issues yan daifu wants no part in. 

* * *

"Just drink the soup."

yan daifu uses his sternest tone, the one which had ji chuan complying after a quick argument, but yu mingye is different. he is not easily cowed by yan daifu's angry tones and glares, if anything he seems to take great pleasure in basking in the given attention, clamouring for more. 

"If you don't the soup I will throw you—"

"I will," yu mingye intercedes, placating even as his expression shows a complete lack of remorse for making yan daifu's life hard. "I will drink it all, if you keep me company for a while after."

yan daifu wants to scream.

for some unknown reason he stays long after the soup bowl is empty and the moon is halfway across the sky.

* * *

looking back on it, yan daifu ought to have known this would happen.

it is not as if he is naive enough to miss what affection looks like on another's face (he thinks of ji chuan and zhao qingfeng and his stomach turns on itself, sick with envy — it isn't like he wants one of them but he wants — what he wants that he will not give it a name, not even as yu mingye smiles across the table while he helps yan daifu restock his herbs).

* * *

"Don't you dare," yan daifu brings his hand between their mouths to stop yu mingye's relentless advance. "Don't you fucking dare." 

to his credit, yu mingye is not deterred. his laughter fills the cabin, breaking all pretence of solitude yan daifu might have been attempting. he takes with gentle, calloused fingers the hand between their mouths and brings the palm to his lips.

yu mingye is coaxing. he is relentless and determined and _annoying_.

_it's only a kiss_ , yan daifu reminds himself as yu mingye places another kiss against skin and another and another until he brings their mouths together.

"It's just one kiss," yu mingye's eyes are dark and inviting, and yan daifu swears.

"You've put your mouth on me three times already."

yu mingye tilts his head, humming in agreement because he has no real defence to the accusation laid out between them. "Let's make it four then."

just for that yan daifu bites him.

(though admittedly, rather than serving as a deterrent they both seem to like that).


End file.
